Podcasts for Educators. Podcasts by Educators.

10/31/17

This is part 3 of my interview of Jim Spradley. Today we are talking about his military experience in World War II.

Here are some samples from our discussion:

How Jim ended up in the Navy.

What he was trained to do and where he was eventually dropped in the Pacific theater of the War.

Nobody wanted to volunteer for submarines.

What they ate and why the Army soldiers really liked getting mutton.

What it was like when the announcement came that Germany had surrendered.

His transition from war to college.

The college he attended after the war was Princeton where he eventually completed his degree in Economics.

One of the biggest moments in his service was the day that he heard____________ .

What was expected if the war carried itself to the Japanese mainland.

What happened when Japan surrendered.

This talk is filled with potential for engaging activities. What do you think?

Here are some words/phrases that the kids would need to understand when you discuss Jim's comments: draft, Navy, storekeeper as a military position, PT boats, torpedo boats, mutton, equator, c-rations, and celebration mode.

Also, how about helping the kids look at where he was when he was drafted in Dooly County, Georgia. Think about where his travels took him next: Macon and Rhode Island to California to the Pacific which included New Guinea, the Phillipines, and Japan.